My partner is a professional who should be pretty presentable. And she doesn't spend a lot, when compared to some, but good products cost. It's fairly long and curly. Like I said she pulls it back and completely covers it. Almost all the time, but especially on the open playa on bikes, during the day. A good wash, condition and trim on return and it's as good as new. It's not rocket science.

First of all, stop being judgemental jerks! Burning Man is about participation and acceptance please try to remember this in your responses. Second, I am in the public eye for my job and coming back with thrashed hair makes the first week till I can get to a salon very difficult in the morning getting ready.

Here are a few suggestions: Braids will help a LOT. Get them professionally done pre-playa and make sure they put a ton of leave in conditioner and don't get them too tight. Fewer/larger braids do less damage than cornrows. Then be sure you do these things while you are out there: Put sunblock on any exposed scalp at least 4 times a day. This skin burns REALLY easily and is painful and will look like crazy dandruff when it's healing. Put sunscreen on the braids themselves too for the first few days till they get a good coating of playa on them to help protect the color from fading in weird ways. A hat will be your best friend. Get one a little bigger than fits without braids so you have room for them without pulling tight and causing more breakage. When you don't want to wear a hat, wear a scarf. This will also be a good dust barrier in a windstorm when wrapped around both hair and face.

First of all, stop being judgemental jerks! Burning Man is about participation and acceptance please try to remember this in your responses. Second, I am in the public eye for my job and coming back with thrashed hair makes the first week till I can get to a salon very difficult in the morning getting ready.

Hmmm, judgmental, you say?

A few thoughts from Moderator M: I constantly nag and remind that snark should never be the first answer, and preferably not the second or even third in forums where help is being sought. HOWEVER, this IS an open and relatively uncensored forum. I don't expect a topic to stay on topic all the time. I also expect posters to be able to skim the snark if they don't find it amusing. Last, never confuse eplaya with the playa. The two are very different animals.

I've seen tons of girls out there with the wool wraps and I heard they can help protect your hair quite a bit. I've got long hair and after the first day I had a girl that was nice enough to braid it all for me which helped a lot. I did have some breakage and my hair was all frizzy when I took them out, but it was out of site and out of mind on the playa.

I actually want to get my hair wool wrapped this year. Does any one know where I might be able to get this done in SF prior to the burn???

I spend a bit on my hair. I can't imagine trying to comb out my hair on the playa, even when it's been short. I just let mine dread up and then use about half a bottle of conditioner once I get off playa. When I've tried to wash it on playa, it just ends up looking worse. I've been covering it with a bandana the last couple years since I've been growing it a bit (shoulder length now). Her best bet is to braid it, cover it, keep it covered, and then don't touch it all week

My after playa ritual is to get in the shower, put on a bunch of conditioner, rinse. Repeat until you can get your fingers through your hair. Then shampoo, condition some more, dry. It looks as though a lot of hair is coming off in the shower, but it's only the normal hair loss that isn't going anywhere until the dreads come out.

I have waist-length fine hair and my default 'do is a 4-pin chignon, which works really well in BRC.

I wear a hat whenever I leave my hut, I brush it out when I go to bed and before I pin it up again, and I wash it every two or three days while I am there. A good spray-on, leave-in conditioner between shampoos controls the static and repels dust. I find that products marketed for African-American-type hair are particularly helpful out there. In the words of Uncle Frank: Keep it greasy so it'll go down easy.

I use a garden sprayer filled with vinegar water as an all-purpose wash in BRC, and can shampoo & condition anybody's hair for about a quart of muddy grey water.

The problem you really want to avoid is collecting little rocks around your hairline, where sweat beads meet playa dust and coalesce around the hair shaft. Those rocks can tug on your roots until they drive you insane. Prevent with grease, remove with vinegar water and no you will not smell like a salad afterwards.

"Burning Man ruined my life as I knew it, and I have never been happier." -mgb327